Louise Gray

Environmental journalist

I went to a talk by Sumayya recently and it transformed how I see Pakistan. It has opened up a world of spices and smells and peoples and landscapes I didn’t even know existed: Chickoos and falsa berries, whole chickens cooked in 24 spices and rose milkshake. It showed me the power of food writing to reach across cultures and help us understand and appreciate one another. It made it seem important and as a relative new comer to the scene, that was very important to me at the time. I am going to give it to my sister for her birthday (after I’ve cooked a few more of the recipes).

Dina Begum

Food writer

Growing up I hadn't seen too many Bangladeshi cookbooks or Pakistani ones for that matter – at least in English. So when I laid my hands on this beautiful book it filled me with excitement. Finally we were moving away from ‘Indian’ cuisine - that catch-all for all food from the Indian subcontinent. There are recipes I’m familiar with as a person of Bangladeshi origin such as Firni... A feast for the eyes and palate.

Shehar Bano Rizvi

Cookbook author and blogger